Ocean Globe Race third leg

We spent an entire month in Auckland, and during that time, we managed to repair and service all parts of the boat.Now, it was ready for the third and most challenging leg from Auckland to Punta del Este, Uruguay. After spending a month on land, heading back to the sea felt difficult,and it was hard to adjust to the idea of spending long stretches of time at sea again. 

The first two weeks went really well, and I focused a lot on interpreting the weather data. We had a New Zealander, Peter, who had promised to provide weather broadcasts on the radio every evening before the group buddy chat, where all the boats shared their locations and wind information. There are strict rules about what kind of weather information can be given. Most of the data consisted of the coordinates of high and low-pressure systems and the progression of fronts, so there was plenty to interpret. However, it kept me busy, and time passed quickly.

 I also learned how to use a sextant

The wind was once again inconsistent, and we had to repair the spinnakers several times. The spinnaker halyard brackets on the mast also broke, but luckily,Alex managed to fix them so we could get the spinnakers back up.

And again, repairing the spinnaker – at times it was really challenging because the interior of the boat was very cramped

This leg also had three virtual waypoints that we had to pass. We often laughed because whenever we approached a waypoint, it was foggy or otherwise very unstable, making it really hard to navigate around it since we couldn't get an exact position with the sextant. At one waypoint, we had to tack to get over it, which took a lot of time.

Cape Horn! I was actively writing in my journal while at sea, and I want to share the text I wrote at Cape Horn:"A few days of strong downwind, about 40 knots. My hands hurt so much from steering that even brushing my teeth feels exhausting.White Shadow is just ahead of us, and we are rounding Cape Horn at the same time as them. However, they sailed a bit higher and had to gybe near the shore,which allowed us to pass in front of them. The morning was foggy, and I was afraid we wouldn’t see Cape Horn at all because of the fog. But luckily, the fog lifted just in time,and I began to make out the iconic tip of Cape Horn. The waves were really challenging, even though the wind had eased a bit. When Cape Horn was to our side, we took pictures and opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate.The waves were so tricky, and the wind was coming from directly behind us, so the person at the helm had to stay focused on keeping the boat on course the entire time.Right after rounding, we got worried because we hadn’t heard from White Shadow in a long time, and we hoped that everything was okay with them. The wind lightened, and the waves disappeared as we turned toward the Maire Strait, where the current is really strong.Fortunately, the wind was just enough, and we made it through the strait back to the Atlantic. And we saw White Shadow behind us again." Happy Cape Horner :) 

I woke up for my morning watch, and it felt so different because the sun was rising from the opposite side of the boat compared to what I had gotten used to in the past few weeks.The wind was light and coming from ahead, but we were still able to make progress in the right direction. According to the weather forecasts, the last leg to Punta del Este would have very light winds.

However, that’s not what happened. The wind turned into a downwind, and we kept reducing sail area continuously. The gusts peaked at 58 knots, and at times the waves rolled over the boat so that we couldn’t see anything. We drifted into a fishing area and began seeing bright fishing boats all around us. The night was mostly spent trying to avoid them.

We had sailed really well on this leg. We were in second place at the moment and it felt like we were able to keep pace with the larger boats. The wind had eased a little, and Punta del Este was approaching, only about 500 nautical miles away. Getting weather information in that area was really difficult, and it was hard to plan a strategy without knowing what would happen with the wind. However, we had managed to receive a few weather faxes, which showed that the final leg would be upwind. Of course.

The last 70 nautical miles were exciting, as the wind kept shifting, and we tried our best to keep the bow pointed toward Punta del Este.We finally arrived in daylight, early in the morning, and everyone was happy to get their phones back and call their families and friends in Finland.